Researchers Hold Quadrocopter Tennis Match.

Popular Science (3/29, Boyle) reports, "ETH Zurich's Flying Machine Arena hosted a quadrocopter tennis match, involving a human-robot volley, a doubles match and an impressive robot-to-robot juggling act." The match was part of a project "examining adaptive high-performance maneuvers." A video of the match was posted on the website.

Artificial Leaf Design Stable, Uses Inexpensive Components.

The Wired (3/28, Brown) "Wired Science" blog reports "MIT professor Daniel Nocera claims to have created an artificial leaf made from stable and inexpensive materials that mimics nature's photosynthesis process." The artificial leaf is "no bigger than a typical playing card, which is left floating in a pool of water" and "uses sunlight to split the water into its two core components, oxygen and hydrogen, which are stored in a fuel cell." Wired notes, "Nocera's leaf is stable - operating continuously for at least 45 hours without a drop in activity in preliminary tests - and made of widely available, inexpensive materials." It is also substantially more efficient than a natural leaf at harvesting energy from the sun.

        Popular Science (3/28, Dillow) notes, "The Nocera Lab's artificial leaf, it should be noted, isn't the first working attempt at recreating photosynthesis in artificial materials." However, "previous attempts have led to artificial leaves full of unstable materials that are expensive and lead to short life spans."

Google Installing Wireless EV Charging Stations.

The Chicago Tribune (3/23, Bird) reports, "Like smartphones, inductive charging is coming to the nascent electric car market and Google is on the forefront of using the technology." Google announced that it will be installing a wireless charger, "called Plugless Power," for EVs at its Mountain View, California headquarters. Cars will need an adapter to make use of the charging system, "but the company doesn't reveal the cost." It also said that it "expects a less than 10% efficiency loss with wireless charging."

Researchers Developing Improved Search And Rescue Robots.

KBTX-TV Bryan/College Station, TX (3/8, Oder) reported, "International research at Disaster City near Texas A&M may eventually save lives worldwide" through the development of search and rescue robots. "We're seeing the mobility change to more biometric type, pneumatic types, where you've got snakes, you've got caterpillar robots," says Dr. Robin Murphy, head of Texas A&M's Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue. The researchers are working with experts from the Japan Science and Technology Agency to improve disaster-assistance robotics. "There are several types of robots being tested at the Texas Engineering Extension Service 'Disaster City' this week" as the group continues its research.